ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The State of Missouri is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioid pain medications, alleging fraud.

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Wed, 21 Jun 2017 16:50:06 +0000Hawley Sues Opioid ManufacturersST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The State of Missouri is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioid pain medications, alleging fraud.http://chic.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/12493/6968981?cpt=8&wpid=2637KOZLST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The State of Missouri is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioid pain medications, alleging fraud.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed the suit Wednesday in Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis. It accuses Purdeu Pharam, Endo Health Solutions and Janssen Pharmaceuticals of
fraudulently misrepresenting the addictive risks of opioids.
In a news release issued by his office, Hawley said "Our state faces an urgent public-health crisis brought on by fraud. These companies have profited from the suffering of Missourians."
Hawley says the lawsuit claims the misrepresentations about the addictive nature of the drugs "resulted in thousands of patients being given unnecessary opioids prescriptions, often to treat chronic pain."
These companies have helped create an epidemic of drug abuse never been seen in Missouri history," Hawley said.
In 2015, medical records reveal more than 30,000 hospitalizations and emergency-room visits in Missouri because of opioids. That represents nearly a 200% increase over the last decade, according to numbers cited by Hawley's office.
That same year, 2015, 500 Missourians died from opioid overdoses or complications. 300 more died from heroin, another drug commonly associated with opioid abuse.
"The opioid death rate in our state is 160% of the national average," Hawley said.